The
Danger Within
The
Danger Within
Breakaway + 8 yrs, 2 months
The voices whispered encouragement. She could do this, they would help. And with their help she had learned how to confuse Computer. Soon, soon, she also would have a little one to love and who would love her. Yes…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alan headed toward his quarters tired but satisfied at the progress they had made that day. He rotated his shoulders to try to loosen the kinks. He was more mentally than physically tired, actually, although his shoulder muscles were cramped from being hunched over the CAD drawing board for so long. They were in the final steps of refining the plans for the Eagle simulator that he had wanted for years. It would help train the new pilots and keep the old ones on their toes. They were using that Eagle command module that had seen one too many spills to be completely space worthy without a complete overhaul. And he didn’t really think that was worth it given the need they had for a better training tool. A vaulted chamber off Eagle Bay 3 had been hollowed out and pressurized and a hydraulic sling was in the works. Gravity generators were being positioned to minimize or accentuate gravity on command. Alan chuckled in anticipation. That would allow for conditions even more realistic than anything he had trained in back on Earth. Most of the pilots were looking forward to it, and Alan knew he had the knack to create really good programs to test their mettle. Especially if Maya and Sandra helped.
His feeling of self-congratulation faded as he recalled the one-sided ‘talk’ he had had at lunch with Jim Parker, one of the more gossipy pilots. Normally he took the time to eat with Sandra, but today she had had other obligations so he had grabbed a carry sack meal and had eaten in Reconnaissance. Parker had sat down beside him uninvited and had proceeded to pass along what he felt was a humorous bit of news… that one of the pilots was interested in Sandra. Alan had shrugged it off and sent Parker on his way, but now the words were gnawing at him and tearing up his gut. This wasn’t the first time in the past few weeks that one of the pilots or Eagle maintenance staff had passed along the ‘word to the wise.’ He’d just have to talk with Sandra or this was going to start affecting more than just his digestion.
He arrived at their quarters and opened the door with his commlock. The sight of Danae running over to him with her little arms outstretched and a big smile on her happy face temporarily displaced his doubts. Alan picked up the laughing girl and swung her around and settled her on his hip.
“And how’s my favorite three-year old doing?”
“Good, Papa.” Danae hugged Alan tightly around the neck and then grabbed her papa’s ears and pulled his head close to hers. “Mommy is feeling ‘blimpy.’” Danae whispered this confidentially as if sharing a great secret.
“Ahh, she is, is she, little love?” Alan whispered back planting a kiss on the tip of her nose and causing the little girl to squeal with delight. As this was Sandra’s regular complaint of late, Alan was not at all surprised their daughter had picked up on it. “What’s your mum doing?”
“Shower.”
Listening, Alan could hear the water running in the background. Sandra said the hot water eased the strain in her lower back. Once she was out they would head to the cafeteria for dinner. He looked at his tiny daughter and whispered conspiratorially, “Would you like to see what a real blimp looks like?” The little girl jumped up and down on his hip in an enthusiastic yes.
Alan walked over to the Computer terminal, pulled the chair over and sat down with the curious little girl now in his lap. Holding her tiny fingers, Alan guided Danae in typing in the request and almost immediately pictures of dirigibles large and small filled the screen. “See, love, they’re like big balloons that carry people in this little pod underneath.” Alan pointed out the passenger compartment.
Danae looked confused. The blimps looked nothing like the familiar Eagles, and most certainly nothing like Sandra. Letting Danae look at the different pictures, Alan sat back in the chair remembering the time back in the early 1990’s when he had seen a veritable fleet of the graceful airships up in their natural element. Northeast Ohio in the States had been a center of airship construction and the region had seemed to have veritable flocks of the lighter than air craft. Maybe one day this knowledge would once again come into practical use. Alan hoped so.
Without turning, Alan felt the silent change in the air pressure near him that meant Sandra was there. He tilted his head back and smiled up at her as she quickly took in what Danae was looking at. “She asked,” Alan explained with a grin.
“Yes, I am sure.” Sandra looked ruefully at her expanding midsection and then at the screen. Leaning over to place a kiss on Alan’s lips, she then looked at her daughter. “Hungry?”
“Yes!” Danae hopped off her father’s lap and hugged her mother’s middle tightly. The immediacy of a hot dinner and the possibility of a cookie replaced the funny pictures that looked nothing like her Mum. Happily holding hands with each parent, Danae led the Carter clan to dinner.
Later that evening with Danae and her stuffed Horse safely tucked into bed, Alan decided it was time to address what had been eating away at him. He had changed into his pajama bottoms and sat on the edge of the bed watching Sandra brush her hair in front of the small mirror on the dresser. He thought she looked simply beautiful pregnant. He stood up and walked behind her and wrapped his arms around her. He enjoyed the feel of the fullness of her breasts against his arms as he rested his chin on her head. He felt her snuggle back into his embrace. They looked at each other in the mirror.
“Sandra, what do you think of Kevin Taylor?”
Sandra looked at Alan’s reflection, curious as to the reason behind the question. “He is a very kind man and a good pilot. And very patient with the children.” She wondered if this had anything to do with the conversation she had had with Kevin the other day. “He has offered to help me re-certify after the baby is born and I am medically cleared.”
Alan nodded. He knew that Kevin had helped Sandra re-cert after Danae and then Roberto had been born. He would have preferred to have done it himself, but there simply weren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done. He didn’t think Kevin had ever tried anything, but…
“Sahn, you do know that he quite fancies you.” Alan had a strangely neutral expression on his face for what Sandra would have expected for such a light comment. He turned away abruptly and walked to the other end of the small room. He grabbed the chair, turned it around and straddled its seat backwards, watching her closely.
Sandra turned around to be able to look at Alan directly. “That is ludicrous. He barely speaks two or three words to me unless it is about piloting or childcare. He spends more time with Danae in the crèches.”
Alan shook his head slowly, still maintaining eye contact with her. “It’s common knowledge in Reconnaissance. He doesn’t think anyone knows, but I think every last pilot has come up to me. Some find it to be a great joke, but Bill’s actually concerned.”
“Even if it is true, which I doubt, why ever should Bill be concerned?” Sandra was frankly bemused. Kevin had never been inappropriate around her, and indeed, he behaved awkwardly unless Danae was present or they were fully concentrating on flying.
“Bill worries because Annie worries.”
“Alan, this is ridiculous! He is not even that close a friend, more of an acquaintance, really.” She turned to continue brushing her hair. Alan made no other comment, which was unusual enough in its own right she realized. Sandra turned back around to see him looking at her with guarded eyes. She put the hairbrush back and walked over to Alan and looked down at him. He was serious, she saw to her amazement.
“Sandra, you’re not limited to just one choice. I know that.”
Sandra didn’t know how to respond. She knew some Alphans were forming into groups with casual relationships between several partners, but she could never do that. And while she accepted the possibility that she might have a child by someone other than Alan, if they all lived long enough and Alpha could support the additional people, it would be only for the sake of the child. Just as Alan had helped Maya have Lysee.
She placed a hand lightly upon Alan’s shoulder. Keeping the physical link between them, she walked around behind him and bent over enough to wrap her arms around his shoulders and lay her cheek alongside his. She could feel how stiffly he held himself, how worried he actually was. She was still at a loss, but could think clearer if she couldn’t see the strange hurt in his eyes.
“Alan, I know you saw that other Earth and that other Alpha. You told me that… Paul and I had children there. There might even be other Alphas and other Sandras, but here and now, in this place and this time, I am completely content. With you. With us.” She held him tightly, trying to convince him with more than just words. She finally felt him lean back against her and relax. He reached up and ran his hand through her soft hair.
“I love you, Sahn.”
“As you should, Captain Carter.” Sandra hugged him again.
Alan stood abruptly and she suddenly found herself being swept off the ground by the grinning man she knew and loved. He kissed her deeply. This was much more was she expected from her mate. And quite soon enough she found herself much too distracted to be concerned about anything else.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Today… today was the day the voices said was right. Everything was ready and soon she would have her very own daughter. He would regret what he had not done for her, how he had treated her…
~~~~~~~~~~~
Sandra stretched high to relieve the tension in her lower back, and then walked around in circles while rubbing the sore spot just upon her tail bone. She was feeling very pregnant and very blimp-like, but she would much rather this bloated, ungainly stage than the awful, unrelenting nausea she had had with her last pregnancy. She was 34 weeks pregnant, looked it and most definitely felt it.
Sandra heard a noise in the front room and looked to see Danae playing with a stack of small, smooth polymer blocks. She was very proud that she was to be a big sister soon and frequently carried on lengthy, mostly incomprehensible conversations directed at Sandra’s middle about all the wonderful games she and her new brother would play. Sandra rather suspected she was in for a disappointment, in the short term at least.
The rather tuneless sound of Alan singing Up, up, and away could be heard coming from the bathroom. His enthusiasm over the Eagle simulator was infectious and Sandra was smiling as Alan walked out from the bathroom settling his jacket across his shoulders. Still humming, he gave both his wife and daughter kisses. He was almost out the door before he pivoted sharply and walked back over to Sandra to pat her stomach and kiss her a second time. He was besotted as always that a new child was soon to arrive, and that this one would live with them, wet nappies, midnight feedings and all. Sandra knew she was blessed.
The morning quickly settled into the quiet routine of a day off-duty. Danae enjoyed these days when she had a parent all to her self and immediately set up a small tea party for herself, her mum and Horse.
The door’s alert chirped and Sandra looked over surprised. She was not expecting anyone until much later and had no obligations to be anywhere. Alan was not due back for hours. Visitors were not uncommon, but they did usually call first out of respect for her need to rest.
Motioning Danae to wait by the sofa, Sandra walked over to the door and keyed it open with her commlock. Smiling, a tall, blond woman walked in without invitation and then without warning raised her right hand and fired her hand laser point blank into Sandra. Sandra collapsed to the ground, hitting her head on the edge of the bookshelf as she fell. Danae’s scream was cut off abruptly by a second glancing shot.
Command Center was quiet. Except for the absent Sandra, the regular staff was on duty and Maya was running programs extrapolating the number of children Alpha could sustain given their current resources.
“How does it look, Maya?” John Koenig was very interested. Although initially reluctant to allow children on the moonbase, he was now a convert and would like to see many more if feasible. Their long-term survival depended upon it.
“Our biosystem has compensated very well to the current population. The additional catacomb farm is now in production and the espaliered trees are producing mature fruit.” One of the nuclear techs, an amateur gardener back on Earth, had suggested years ago growing the carefully pruned and shaped fruit trees along modified corridors for added food production. Maya liked them because the flowers and fruit smelled so wonderful, although she found the taste of the oranges to be a bit sharp. “What we are in need of is additional raw material for polymer production.”
John nodded. He had been receiving reports from Manufacturing that this was becoming an issue. Much of their daily life was based on polymers. He looked at his slightly thread-worn jacket as a case in point. “When we enter the next …”
A high pitched priority alarm rang from the Security console and Tony jerked around sharply and slapped the button. “Verdeschi.”
“Mr. Verdeschi, there has been a report of laser fire in ‘the Outback’ residential area. I am en route now. Are you aware of any incidents?”
Tony darted a quick look at John who shook his head no and rose to his feet obviously alarmed.
“Negative. Investigate and report. I’ll join you on site.”
Maya was the first to realize. “Commander, Sandra is probably there…”
John paled, “Alibe…”
Sandra’s second was already trying to reach her. “No answer, Commander, either in her quarters or on her commlock.”
A trickle of fear running down his spine, John looked at Tony and without further word they took off at a run.
Sharing a look of dread with Alibe, Maya turned to call Alan in Reconnaissance.
Alan took the corner at a dead run, skidded but managed somehow to keep from falling. “Laser fire…” Maya’s call repeated in his thoughts again and again. He turned the final corner and found the door to his quarters standing ajar. The control panel had been fired upon and was unresponsive to his commlock. He braced his shoulder and pushed with brute force. The door was only grudgingly responding when a purple-sleeved arm and shoulder joined his shoving hard. The door finally snapped open. Losing balance, Alan all but fell into the room and only the quick hands of the security man kept him from hitting the floor… and Sandra.
She was lying sprawled on the floor unconscious, a puddle of fresh blood pooling around her head. She was pale and limp but Alan could just see a pulse fluttering in her neck. He reached out to her but had just enough presence of mind not to move her neck. Not taking his eyes off Sandra, he grabbed his commlock.
“Medical Emergency in the Carter quarters. We need a medical team now.”
Helena’s face appeared immediately. “What’s wrong, Alan?”
“Sandra’s hurt. She unconscious and bleeding from her head. She may have been stunned.” The voice was remarkably calm, too calm.
“Don’t move her, I’m coming.”
Still searching Sandra’s face for any signs of awareness, he saw the abandoned stuffed Horse out of the corner of his eye. “Danae?” Alan looked up in fear. Where was his daughter? The guard who had already given the quarters a once over for an intruder, now holstered his laser and swiftly checked closets and under beds, everywhere a small body might hide. He walked back out to the main room shaking his head as Tony burst into the room immediately followed by John. Both stopped abruptly at the sight in front of them.
“Mother of God…” Tony stuttered shocked.
“Danae’s missing.” Alan was torn in his loyalties to wife and child, but there was no way he would leave Sandra until Helena arrived. “Find her, Tony.”
As John knelt alongside Alan, Tony pulled his commlock off his belt as he looked at the security man for a report.
“Someone fired on the exterior door panel presumably to slow our entrance. I’ve searched the quarters; there was no sign of anyone except Ms Benes and no sign of struggle in the bedrooms.”
Tony nodded in acknowledgement as he thumbed on his commlock. “Verdeschi to all security teams. We have a potential hostage situation. Unknown person or persons have abducted Danae Carter. These individuals are armed and are to be considered highly dangerous. If located, surround but do not approach. Repeating, the hostage is...” Tony looked bleakly at Alan, “Danae Carter.”
~~~~~~~~~~~
Good, good… the child slept quietly in her arms. Victor had been right, only a glancing laser shot had done the job. What?... yes, another child. The voices told her where and how. She had watched long and knew the habits of Alpha’s children. And Danae needed a brother, after all…
~~~~~~~~~~~
“The blood is from a superficial laceration, Alan. But she did hit her head hard enough to cause a concussion. There is no structural damage to her brain, but I won’t know the full extent of the damage until she awakens.”
Alan held Sandra’s hand and gently brushed the still blood-sticky hair from her cheek. It chilled Helena to see Sandra’s blood cover Alan’s hands.
“And? I know you Helena, there’s more.” Alan looked at the three bags of medicine dripping into Sandra’s IV.
“The premature labor has stopped for now.”
Alan closed his eyes against the grief that threatened to overwhelm him. He was the one who was supposed to face danger, not Sandra or the children. “How long till she wakes up?” he opened his eyes to look at the doctor.
Helena just shook her head.
“Right. But she and the baby will recover?” Alan’s eyes pleaded for reassurance.
Helena never lied to her patients or their families, but neither did she want to extinguish reasonable hope. “I hope so, Alan. They’re stable, for now.”
He took a deep breath, and then bent to kiss Sandra on the forehead. Alan looked at Helena, now a chillingly cold gaze so very atypical for him. “I’m going to find Danae. Call me if anything changes.”
Helena simply nodded. “I will.” She felt an involuntary shiver at the look in Alan’s eyes as she watched him leave to join the search for Danae. She hoped either John or Tony would stay with him during the hunt. If the outcome was… bad, there was no anticipating what the pilot would do. Sandra had calmed down some of Alan’s more erratic impulses but if she, Danae or the unborn child were permanently harmed by this unknown Alphan, Alan might just snap.
Helena sighed and turned back to re-examine Sandra. The labor had stopped for now, but as Sandra had yet to carry a child to full term, Helena remained concerned. She ran her hand through her hair and turned to the nurse who had just finished washing the blood off Sandra’s unconscious face.
“Mia, please call Fiona and Frederick to Medical and then we’re going into lock-down mode. Let the other nurses know.” Helena would be happier when the nurses who had taken over obstetrics and pediatrics were on site. Just in case. She turned to the commpost to notify the other members of her medical staff. Then she would check on Stephen and David.
John watched his Command Center team work feverishly organizing an Alpha-wide search. Tony was coordinating his entire security force and additional volunteers to check every nook and cranny where a small three-year-old girl might hide or be hidden. Maya had plotted a search grid on the Main Screen and he could see exactly how much of Alpha was left to be combed through… almost all of it. The pictograph now being reviewed would have surprised the initial designers of Alpha. Years of hostile confrontations with aliens, the damages wrought by the Moonquake and the more recent expansion of living space had left Alpha with differences above and especially below, the lunar surface. And that had resulted in many more potential hiding places.
Dr. Bob Mathias had been called to Command Center to try to account for every Alphan via the medical monitors Computer kept on each person. For privacy’s sake, access to this information was granted only to the highest levels of Medical and Security. And with Security completely involved with the search, Helena had asked Bob to run the data.
“Any luck yet, Bob?” John asked as he finished reviewing the progress made so far.
“I’m focusing on the children’s scans. Somehow the individual identification of each biosign has been tampered with, but we still read all twenty-four pediatric life-signs, so we know she is still alive.”
John exhaled sharply, relief flooding him at the news. He hadn’t wanted to consider that possibility. He watched Bob as he continued his report in a very detached, clinical voice but John could see the distress on the physician’s face.
“It would help if we could identify each child’s location. The one we can’t eliminate will...”
“On it,” interrupted Tony.
“Wait a minute, Tony,” ordered John. “Let’s keep this as circumspect as possible. Open-commlock messages may just give the abductor more information than we want.”
Maya nodded. “He must be fairly computer literate to modify the sensor grid, so who knows what else he has done.” Maya mused further, deep in thought. “The medical programs are fairly heavily encrypted, not many could have done that.” She started to call up data and proceeded to ignore everyone else.
Tony briefly watched Maya hoping she was onto something, but when she volunteered nothing else he turned back to John. “Alright, we notify the parents individually on the tightest channels possible and have them report their children’s location. I would like to have the children brought into protected areas, but let’s start with location first.” Tony turned to Alibe who started the notification process. She was quickly joined by Kate and another technician.
Just then, the doors to Command Center opened and Alan walked in. He walked over to John. “All Eagles and Eagle Bays are on complete lock-down and being guarded by armed pilots. Nothing moves without Command authorization.” Alan’s voice was completely flat, the Australian accent thicker than it had been in years. He then turned to face Tony and held his hand open, flat and waiting. Tony looked at him, judging his stability. It was a close call, but Tony finally nodded his head slightly and placed a laser in Alan’s hand.
With some reservations John accepted Tony’s judgment call. The look in Alan’s eyes had not been totally sane, but as one of the few people still alive who had been involved in Alpha’s construction he knew the hiding places best. He watched Alan join the work of finalizing the search plans.
John looked around at his people. Everyone was completely focused on solving the current crisis. He walked back to his desk and sat down. He pushed the appropriate button on his station and the screen filled with the happy sights of small children playing in the crèche between here and Medical.
Stephen looked up at the monitor and saw his face. “Hi, Dad!” The three-year-old sandy haired boy smiled and waved.
“Hi there, sport. Get Alyssa please.” John could see the currently assigned caregiver in the background. Stephen obligingly ran over and tugged on the microbiologist’s jacket and pointed at the monitor.
“Commander? I just reassured Dr. Russell that the boys are fine.” Alyssa Wyers was slightly frazzled at being rather significantly outnumbered, but otherwise looked normal.
Speaking calmly but intently, John summarized the situation. “Engage the security locks now and do not open the door until the all-clear is given.”
Alyssa paled. “Understood, Commander.” As he signed off, John saw Alyssa look up toward the door and smile with relief. He thought she addressed another adult as the screen returned to the usual Alpha standby logo. John pushed back his chair and looked up to see Alan watching him. “Ready, Alan?”
“Yeah, let’s find Danae.”
There was a dead look in Alan’s eyes. John had seen Tony on the edge of madness, and had known the feeling himself, but there was something deeply disturbing to see it in Alan. Hotheaded, certainly; stubborn, frequently; but Alan had always been the sane one.
The only comfort John could hold onto right now was that Stephen and David were fine and unaware of the terror enveloping Alpha.
~~~~~~~~~~~
A child should have a sibling, and the voices had guided her to one who was being raised in deceit. Now, he would know his parents. She would never lie to him…
~~~~~~~~~~~
“Dr. Russell? She’s waking up.”
Helena walked quickly over to Sandra’s bedside where her patient was starting to stir. Helena thought Sandra had opened her eyes, but they were firmly closed now.
“Sandra? You’re in Medical. Can you open your eyes?” Helena would feel better medically and personally if she knew Sandra could recognize her.
“Helena? Alan? What happened… NO!” Sandra attempted to sit upright but was restrained by both Helena and Fiona, the obstetric nurse. She opened her eyes wide frantically looking around, but then closed them quickly with a gagging sound and slumped backwards, collapsing on the pillow. “I am going to be sick…”
Helena reached for a hypospray prepared against this contingency. “That should help. How do you feel?”
“Still very dizzy. There is two of everything when I open my eyes and my head hurts terribly. What happened?” Sandra was visibly flogging her memory and becoming more and more agitated.
“You need to calm down, Sahn. For the baby’s sake.”
Sandra’s hands went to her gravid middle and she forced herself to take several deep breaths. After several minutes, she tried opening her eyes again, but closed them almost immediately.
“Is the baby alright?”
“Yes.” For now, Helena added to herself. She did not want to provoke another upset, but they had to know what had happened. It could very well help in the frantic search now underway. Knowing that a gentle touch was often the strongest medicine, Helena ran cool fingers down the side of Sandra’s face as she reached for another hypospray with a mild pain reliever for the headache. It would also be slightly sedating, not something Helena preferred in a head trauma patient, but she could less afford to have Sandra hysterical. “Sahn, what do you remember?”
There was a furrow of concentration on Sandra’s brow. “Alan left as usual. Danae sat down to play with her blocks and I went to join her when someone came to the door. I opened it, and…” Sandra again started to try to force herself into a seating position. “Helena, where is Danae?” There was a frantic edge to her voice.
“Shh… Do you remember who was at the door?” Helena pitched her voice low, as she gently restrained Sandra. “It’s very important, Sandra.”
“Yes… it was a woman. From the liquid crystal research lab. Rachael Simms.”
Helena was glad that Sandra had her eyes closed. She did not see the look of concern that crossed Helena’s face.
“I’m going to give you something for the pain.”
“Alan? Danae?” Sandra’s voice was fading as the medicine took effect.
“I’ll let Alan know, Sandra. Shh…”
Leaving Fiona to monitor the biosigns, Helena walked into her office. This was not good information, but it did explain quite a bit. Closing the door behind her she pulled off her commlock and keyed the button to her direct link with her husband.
“Koenig.” John’s terse voice snapped into the small room.
“John, I know who we are searching for.”
~~~~~~~~~~~
The boy and the girl still slept. It had taken time to move them each into this safe refuge as she had had to avoid the searching child stealers, but now she was safe. Her children were safe. Victor would tell her what to do next…
~~~~~~~~~~~
John had detoured to Medical, almost pulling Alan behind him as the desperate man did not want to give over searching. Tony met them there with Bob Mathias.
“Helena… you said you knew who did this?” John was impatient but Helena had requested that they meet her in Medical immediately.
Alan looked up sharply from his place at Sandra’s bedside.
Helena nodded briefly. Looking at Alan she said, “Sandra woke up briefly, she was lucid and alert. She told us Rachael Simms was the one who came to your quarters shortly you left.”
“Damn.” Bob went very pale and leaned against the bed next to him.
“What?” Tony only knew the woman by face and job description. She had never caused any problems although she did have the reputation of going through partners quickly enough.
“Rachael?” Alan sputtered confused. He had spent some time with her years and years ago, but had lost interest even before Maya had joined them. Much more recently, Rachael had even had the gall to demand he father a child for her. A demand he had refused he now recalled with a shiver of dread.
John looked between Helena and Bob. Obviously, the identification of this woman was significant to them.
“Patient confidentiality is superseded in this case, Bob, by Danae’s need.” Helena quietly said.
John’s demand for information was interrupted as Tony made a grab for Alan’s arms to keep him away from the startled Dr. Mathias. The pilot’s quick reflexes had brought him within a bare meter of the doctor before Tony had restrained him. The look on Alan’s face jolted Bob into speech.
“Rachael has been acting erratically for months now. Her co-workers and supervisor have been growing concerned so I called her in for a complete physical and psych evaluation last week.” Bob looked haunted by the actions his patient was accused of taking. “I believe she has schizophrenia.”
“What?” shouted Alan. “You mean she’s crazy?”
“No, not crazy, Alan. Mentally ill.” Helena tried to speak calmly and rationally both to calm Alan and to give Bob a few minutes to consider a plan. Alan did not look like he was buying her distinction. “Most schizophrenics are no danger to themselves or others. But, sometimes they can have a psychotic break and act completely irrationally.”
“She said she was hearing voices, but denied that they were telling her to hurt herself or others.” Bob was quickly regaining his composure.
“And you believed her?” Alan was still furious at the thought that someone had known Rachael was unstable and had still allowed her free run of Alpha.
“Alright,” interrupted John in a raised voice. He stared Alan down and then continued in a calmer tone looking toward Bob. “What can we do about it? Can you anticipate her actions?”
“Perhaps, I can give some insight, but we have had so very little mental illness on Alpha that none of the medical staff is very experienced.”
All the men looked at Helena who sadly concurred. “This is new to all of us, John.”
John nodded acceptance of that statement and turned away, rubbing his eyes and trying to consider what to about this new enemy amongst themselves. Rachael was a gifted chemist, but he had never known her to be involved in the computer programming aspects of Alpha. His mind briefly touched on another time one of their own had turned on them showing abilities she shouldn’t have had… Carolyn Powell during the lambda incident.
Turning back to focus on the situation at hand, he looked at his best hope to interpret the unprecedented behavior confronting them. “Bob, we need your best guesses. Now.”
“Alan?” A soft, sleepy voice called from across the room. Tony released Alan’s arms as soon as he was certain the pilot was headed toward Sandra and away from Mathias. Although he kept a discrete eye on Alan, the Security Chief turned most of his attention back to the conversation at hand.
The doctors, Tony and John spoke quietly behind him as Alan took Sandra’s hand with profound relief. “Hey there, love.” He bent over to kiss her gently and run light fingers alongside her face wondering why she didn’t look at him. “How do you feel?”
“Scared. Sore. If I open my eyes I will see two of you.”
“That’s never a good thing,” Alan joked feebly. He wondered why Helena hadn’t told him any of this.
“Where is Danae? No one will tell me.” Sandra held up her other hand which Alan also took and kissed the fingers.
“We don’t know, but I’ll find her. Rest, love.”
Sandra closed her eyes and let the narcotic reclaim her. Caressing her face one last time, Alan turned to walk back to the others.
Looking up when Alan walked their way and fully prepared to restrain him yet again if needed, Tony was relieved to see that faint look of madness was gone. Knowing Sandra was better seemed to have done the trick. Unfortunately, their little group hadn’t provided that much more insight and Tony was just about ready to resume the systematic search. At least his teams knew who to look for now. And Helena had provided the information that Rachael had a mildly aberrant heart rhythm that just might allow Maya to pick her out of a field of otherwise anonymous biosigns.
“I’m heading back out…” Tony’s commlock chirped. “Verdeschi.”
“Tony, I managed to briefly circumvent the block on the biosigns readings. Rachael was heading toward Eagle Bay 3 and there were two children with her,” Maya’s voice could be heard thinly over Tony’s commlock.
“Two?” John had moved to stand behind Tony’s shoulder so he also could see Maya.
“Yes, Commander. Unfortunately, that portion of the life sciences programming crashed just then and when I re-initialized I could no longer find Rachael. And we are now counting only twenty-two children.
Everyone paled. Could Rachael have suicided taking the children with her?
Alan flogged his brain; he knew he was missing something obvious. Rachael was no pilot, everyone here knew that, so why would she be headed to Bay 3? Going deep in the catacombs would have made more sense to him. Not all of those caverns had yet to be installed with the Computer access needed to allow for continuous monitoring of biosigns.
“Damn.”
“What, Alan?” Tony was the first to catch Alan’s dawning realization. He had not completely relaxed his attention away from the pilot, just in case Alan exploded again.
“The training simulator.” Alan looked confused, but certain. “The command module is there, and most of the hydraulics needed to run it, but Computer link-ups haven’t even been started. There’s no way…”
“…for Computer to follow someone’s biosigns.” Helena finished.
“Verdeschi to all security teams, cordon off the areas surrounding Eagle Bay 3. If Rachael Simms is seen, do not approach or resist, but alert me immediately.”
John looked grimly pleased. “Bob, you’re with us. Bring whatever you might need.” He looked quickly to Tony and Alan. Let’s go.” And with a quick squeeze of Helena’s shoulder, he led his team out.
Helena watched the men leave and then walked over to the commpost and called up Command Center. “Maya, who besides Danae is missing?”
“We are still attempting to locate six children. The crèche on level seven is not responding. I have asked one of the security teams to check there.” Maya looked at Helena with great sympathy. That’s where Stephen and David were.
“I … understand. Let me know, Maya.” Helena turned the screen off, feeling a growing sense of panic. But, before she could alert John an alarm sounded from the monitors above Sandra’s bed and she immediately responded to this new emergency.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now, she had her family with her. Kenny would be so proud of her. She had done it. She curled up under the nose of the sheltering Eagle, her daughter in her lap and her son close by at her side. That the Eagle should protect her was fitting, as its Captain had not.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alan and the others headed to Bay 3 by the quickest route. They arrived to find the door partially opened, in direct opposition to Alan’s orders to lock-down all Eagle Bays.
“Alan, how many pilots should be in there?” John asked softly, approaching the door obliquely.
“Three or four. Armed.”
Tony gestured to the surrounding guards to assume flanking positions and then with lasers drawn, they cautiously pushed the door open far enough for the men to enter.
The first thing seen was the prone body of an orange-sleeved pilot unconscious on the ground. Dr. Mathias pushed past the guards to examine Kevin Taylor and was relieved to find him alive and even responsive to touch.
A quick survey by Tony’s men found the other two pilots stunned but alive behind the nearest Eagle. No one else was found and all the Eagles appeared to be sealed shut. The door to the simulator chamber was closed.
“Kevin, what happened?” Tony knelt by the pilot’s shoulder and gently shook the man to help him focus.
Kevin looked around, confusion evident in his expression. He finally saw Alan standing behind Tony and focused on his Captain’s face.
“She has the child.”
Alan nodded in encouragement, forcing himself not to rush Kevin. He knew that it took a few minutes for the brain to engage after taking a laser stun. Quickly enough, Alan saw clarity returning to Kevin’s eyes.
“I heard the Bay doors open and went to investigate. I saw movement at the door and raised my laser and challenged the person. It was a woman carrying a child. I couldn’t risk firing,” Kevin looked at Alan with a plea for understanding why he disobeyed orders, “…but she did.”
Before Kevin could say more, Tony’s commlock chirped and he moved aside to take the message. Alan knelt down briefly by Kevin to squeeze his shoulder in reassurance. The children had to be in with the simulator. Computer would have been able to pick them up anywhere else in the Bay. He moved off toward the simulator’s chamber only to find its door sealed shut. The safety locks placed to protect someone from inadvertently walking in when the simulator was in motion were engaged. Alan looked over to Tony and saw that John was standing beside him and had turned very pale. Alan started to walk over to find out what the latest bad news was, when Tony took off at a run out of the Bay followed by two of his men.
“John?” Alan asked quietly, fearful of what else might have happened.
John quickly and quietly walked over to join Alan by the simulator. “Tony has gone to secure the other children. He’s not convinced Rachael has acted alone and I have to agree. Can we get in?” He nodded to the door now in front of him.
“I’ll have Computer override the lock once we’re in position.”
“Good.”
Alan did not think John was telling him everything, but… “I don’t understand why Rachael’s brought Danae here. She’s trapped, there’s no food or water in there. Eventually she’ll have to open the door.”
“No rational person would do any of this, I agree.” Bob had walked over to join them after confirming the other pilots were in no danger. “But I doubt Rachael would qualify as rational right now.”
John nodded his head continuing to assessing the situation in front of him. There was only one way in or out and they had the advantage of fire-power and numbers. But everyone also knew that Rachael held the ultimate trump card.
The strategizing continued.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rachael was content. If only the others would leave her be for a while. Eventually the other Alphans would recognize that she had been right, that these children were hers to raise. She quietly sang the remembered lullabies her mother had sung to her so long ago…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The monitors once again, finally, showed the unborn child to have stable biosigns. Helena took a deep breath. She wasn’t sure how much longer Sandra would carry this child. And if anything happened to Danae or Alan, premature delivery would almost be a certainty. Thirty-four weeks was a little early for Helena’s comfort, but if they had to she believed they could help the child survive.
Helena reached for her commlock to call John, but then stopped and slowly removed her hand. He was certainly fully concentrating on the rescue. Distracting him only to find comfort in his voice was not fair to the others. He would call as soon as he had word. Helena blinked back tears and swallowed against the raw fear turning her stomach. Her heart ached not knowing what was happening to the children. Whether or not her sons were safe. She had not be able to reach the crèche, and when she had last spoken to Maya, the Psychon had been in a rush moving children to the recc center on Tony’s orders. She had promised Helena to check the crèche on her way over and to call as soon as she was at her destination. She would give Maya a little more time to arrive, and then she would check there…
Tony panted as he ran as swiftly as he could, his men keeping pace behind him. He wanted to get everything set up as fast as possible so he could get back to Bay 3. There was going to be a complete overhaul of the safety protocols surrounding the children once they survived this he thought grimly. They had been just to cavalier up to now. And it was his fault. Damn. He hated leaving John and the others, but he knew he had to get the remaining children under protection. Now. He was almost at the recc center.
Maya should be arriving soon, with Annette, Shermeen, Katie and as many of the other mothers as she could contact. And the children.
He and his men swept the recc center fast and thoroughly. No one was there. Almost immediately Maya arrived with Lysee and Roberto and a tearful David Koenig. Tony turned to her, a grim smile on his face. She was his ace in the hole. Every Alphan knew of Maya’s shapeshifting ability, but she didn’t use it much except with family and close friends, and people tended to forget just exactly what she could do.
Tony walked over and touched the faces of his children. He then knelt down and tightly embraced all three children. He would allow no one else to be abducted. He looked up to Maya.
“Tony?” Her face held a frightened look.
“Maya, love, I want you to get all the children here. And I need you to guard them. With my teams deployed, I don’t trust anyone else to keep them safe. Rachael’s gone crazy. She’s taken Danae and… well, if she somehow gets away from us she may make a grab for others. And she might have help. You’re the best hope the children have to stay safe. You do anything, and I mean anything necessary to protect them.” The faintest glimmer of metamorphic light surrounded Maya. “Exactly.”
Annette Fraser arrived at a run and ducked past Tony and Maya into the room carrying her children, closely followed by Shermeen and her two. Standing, Tony handed his laser to Annette. That gave the children two more protectors in here, and his guards would remain outside. Tony then kissed Maya fiercely and stepped back keeping eye contact with her until the door sealed completely. He nodded to the men, and then ran to rejoin John and Alan.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Hush-a-bye baby, on the tree top,
When the wind blows the cradle will rock;
When the bough breaks the cradle will fall,
Down will come baby, cradle, and all
~~~~~~~~~~~
The group of men outside the simulator chamber were running out of options.
…Alan’s override command had failed to unlock the door to the simulator chamber, as had John’s Command Code. Somehow, Rachael had accomplished that bit of computer reprogramming too.
…Bob vetoed infiltrating the air system with anesthetic gas as too risky. No one knew how that would affect a child already suffering from the affects of a laser stun.
…Simply waiting was unacceptable to Alan, and Bob supported that given Rachael’s unpredictability.
Alan was at the point of simply forcing the door, when Tony arrived back on site panting hard.
“John, we have to get in there.” Tony was as impatient as Alan.
“I agree, how …” Just then the door slid open.
The chamber was dim and quiet except for a melodic humming. The men quickly ducked out of the line of fire. Rachael had already proved she would not hesitate to fire.
Not willing to wait longer, Alan looked cautiously around the door, laser drawn, and found Rachael sitting on the floor in the dim cavern almost directly under the nose of the suspended command module. She didn’t quite face the door, and there was no good way to stun her and be assured to miss the child she held. She was rocking a small, limp body back and forth, crooning softly. Alan’s heart stuttered when he saw the light glint off the silver hair. Was Danae alive? He must have made a noise because Rachael spoke without looking up.
“Have you come to see our daughter, Alan? She’s so tired that she’s sleeping right now, but she should awaken soon.”
Alan cast a frantic look toward John who was studying the scene intently. John finally looked over to him and gestured for Alan to speak and try to distract the woman.
“Yeah, Rachael, I can see she’s tired. Can I come over to see her?”
“You can come, but the Commander and everyone else has to stay there. And don’t move too fast, you might scare her. Leave your laser behind.”
How the deranged woman knew about his laser and John without looking up Alan didn’t know, unless she was just guessing. He wasn’t going to risk it. Passing the laser to John, Alan started to walk into the cavern slowly, his arms wide and hands held open. He cautiously made his way around the perimeter of the chamber until he could see Rachael’s face.
“That’s close enough.” Rachael looked up but her focus was on a spot several meters to Alan’s left. “Yes, I know. But she is his daughter, too, so he should have visitation rights. Not like the Commander. Stephen’s no son of his. Now, hush and let the children sleep.”
Alan was confused and glanced quickly over his shoulder although he knew no one was there. Who the hell was she talking to? There was a small movement on the floor next to Rachael. Alan was shocked to realize it was a second small body. He watched as Rachael reached down to smooth the brown hair on the small head.
“Shhh, sleep my son. I won’t let anything hurt you.”
“Rachael, who is that?” For all he was worth, Alan tried to pitch his voice calmly.
“Don’t you recognize Stephen, Alan? Victor told me to take him and keep him as my own. He’s no son of Koenig’s, even if that is what the Commander says.”
Alan shot a glance at John who was pale but still focused on the situation. He must have known. That must have been message he and Tony had taken by the door to the Eagle Bay. John gestured for him to keep talking.
“Rachael, why are the children sleeping? It’s not their naptime.”
“I had to make sure they slept while I brought them here. I only just touched them with the stunner. I was very careful. Victor said it would be alright.” She rocked and crooned tunefully, seemingly oblivious to the look of stark fear that crossed Alan’s face as he inadvertently stepped closer to his daughter. A stunner could kill a small child.
Rachael’s right hand flashed out from underneath Danae’s limp form and she aimed a laser straight at Alan as she looked him in the eye for the first time. “Come no closer, Alan.” She kept the laser trained on Alan’s chest as he fell to his knees. Again, she briefly looked up and slightly to his left, “Don’t worry, it’s still on stun.”
Alan tried to move in a little closer but stopped as Rachael clicked the power level over to the red kill level.
“No. I asked you once to help me have a child but you said no. Now I have your child and she is mine. Victor said so.”
Alan focused completely on Danae. Yes, he saw her thin chest rise and fall. Thank God, she was alive. He slowly sat back on his heels, hands still carefully in the open and tried to consider his options. He knew John and Tony were trying to get into a position of some advantage, but Rachael now had two hostages and a laser set on kill. She had already fired on the children once, a thought which chilled him to the very marrow, and would probably not hesitate to fire on him. Damn.
“You must be quiet now, the children are still sleeping. Be quiet I say!” Rachael was looking over Alan’s shoulder, her eyes dilated and very angry.
“Rachael, who are you talking to?”
“You think I’m crazy, don’t you. Just like Mathias. Well, I’m not. Kenny and Victor….”
Just then, the low lights flickered off and Alan heard the door close behind him. He felt a chill on the bare skin of face and hands while the hair on the base of his scalp prickled. What the hell was John up to? Light returned to illuminate Rachael’s face, but it was an odd un-Alphan light, golden and there was a scent that hinted at their lost homeworld. Rachael stopped rocking and stood slowly, Danae a limp ragdoll hanging over her left arm.
“Kenny? Victor?” Rachael asked, confusion plain upon her face.
Alan felt a slight breeze cross his neck and a thin but familiar gentle whisper came from behind him. “Rachael, let the children go. You have been confused and scared, but it’s alright now, I’ll help you. We all will. Let the child go. Alan will take care of her.” Rachael came a step closer to Alan and dropped Danae carelessly into his waiting arms. Alan caught his child and clutched her to his chest tightly. He hunched over protectively and his eyes closed tight in visceral fear. He found himself completely unable to move further.
“Can I still have Stephen? You told me I could.”
“No… John and Helena are his parents.”
“But...”
“John is his father. Come, rest now. We will help you.”
“No, Stephen is MINE!” Rachael yelled and Alan heard the sound of a laser firing.
Alan again felt that sense of otherness in the odd, chill un-Alphan breeze, and heard the whispers of a whistled concerto soft and clear in the distance. The breeze swirled around him tugging at his hair. He focused his whole being on protecting Danae from whatever was happening beyond his closed eyes, and then… utter silence. Nothing moved, nothing even stirred, but the sense of otherness permeated his soul. All he could hear was his own shallow panting breaths and the smell of his own fear. He felt Danae stir slightly against his chest and then felt a light touch as if someone very kind had patted him reassuringly on the shoulder, and then …the cavern returned to normal.
He took a deep, shuddering breath. The lights turned on full and he looked up numb and blinded, blinking to see Rachael collapsed in a heap a bare meter away from him.
The door burst open and Tony rushed in to kick the laser away from Rachael’s outstretched hand as John all but threw himself on top of Stephen who was calling weakly for his dad.
“What the hell just happened in here?” Tony demanded seeing the laser burn on the cavern wall behind Alan. He helped Alan up to his feet. Two of his people had Rachael in restraints and were taking her out followed closely by Bob.
Alan watched the dazed woman, her long blond hair disheveled and covering her face. Alan’s guilt over any roll he might have played in causing this near tragedy had ended the moment he knew Rachael had stunned the children. He didn’t care where they took her.
Alan ignored the security chief until he reassured himself that Danae was well. Her bright green eyes looking up at him were the sweetest sight he had ever seen. He clutched Danae to his chest so tightly that the little girl squirmed with discomfort.
“I don’t know what happened, Tony.” Had he really heard the voice and felt the touch of Victor Bergman? Alan then snorted in relieved embarrassment. “I had my eyes closed.”
John walked over to the men with Stephen sitting on his right arm, the little boy’s thin arms wrapped around John’s neck and his head resting trustingly on his father’s shoulder. Alan realized with a start that except for the blue eyes, they looked nothing alike. John looked relieved, angry and puzzled. “The door slammed shut just as Rachael stood up. We couldn’t get it open until… it just opened on its own. What did you hear if you had your eyes shut, Alan?”
“It was a shiny man, Uncle John.”
All three men looked at Danae.
“The shiny man told the bad lady to go to sleep and she did. He smiled at me and then just went away.” Danae’s eyes were huge in her thin face, but not with fear, thought Alan. But with awe.
“Did he say anything else, love?” Alan asked very gently.
Danae nodded her head. “He walked over and touched Stevie on the head and told him to be a good boy for his papa.”
The men looked at Stephen who started to cry. “It’s okay,” reassured John as he rubbed the little boy’s back. “Did you see anything, son?”
Stephen shook his head and sucked his thumb for comfort, tears still pooling in his blue eyes. John looked at the other two men and shrugged as he unclipped his commlock. They would talk more later. He pushed the button that was directly linked to Helena’s commlock. As he led the way to Medical, the doctor’s worried face appeared on the small screen. “Helena, we have Danae and Stephen and they’re fine. We’re heading over to you now.”
She nodded, her look changing to one of profound relief with tears glittering in her eyes. “Alan is with you?”
“Yes, with Danae.” Koenig noted the concern now on her face. Concern, but not grief he saw. He looked over at Alan who was walking close enough to hear Helena’s voice and again had a stricken look on his face. The man had been through hell today.
John thought he might as well ask the question they all were thinking. “How’s Sahn, Helena?”
“Much better than expected. She’s anxious to see Alan and Danae.” That, finally, was said with a faint, relieved smile.
“Tell her we’re almost there.” Alan spoke just loud enough to carry over to John’s commlock. Knowing Sandra was awake and speaking was great news... but what about the baby?
A short travel tube ride and two long corridors later placed the three men at the doors of the Medical Center.
“Here, Alan, I’ll take Danae.” Tony locked his laser carefully in the holster and held his hands out to the girl. “Come here, imp.” And with a reassuring nod from Alan, Danae easily switched over to the arms of her second most favorite papa.
Alan gently ran his hand down the long length of Danae’s silky silver hair. It quite literally caused him pain to let her go, but he knew Tony would sooner die than let anything else happen to her. He turned to follow John who had gone ahead.
Immediately through the doors the first thing Alan saw was Helena holding a crying Stephen. The little boy had managed to snuggle under Helena’s white sleeveless labcoat and was all but choking his mother in his relief to see her. Swaying back and forth, Helena’s tears of happiness fell onto her son’s soft, sandy-brown hair. She looked up seeing Alan’s arrival, nodded to him and stepped out of his line of sight as he attempted to see past her and Stephen. Alan never did see Helena’s small smile of anticipation.
In the midst of the terror of losing Alpha’s greatest and most precious resources, new life had arrived.
Alan found Sandra sitting up in bed holding to her breast a small, wrapped bundle that was intent upon his very first meal. Alan walked over to the bedside and took the hand Sandra held out to him. He looked down, the expression on his face one of not quite believing what was in front of him. He reached out hesitant fingers to touch his son’s head. “Hi, love. This makes three for three doesn’t it?”
Sandra had to laugh. Alan had yet to attend the birth of any of her children.
Alan bent over to kiss Sandra with a thoroughness that would have quite embarrassed her at any other time, but now simply felt right. John waited until Alan and Sandra separated and then walked over a chair for Alan to use as he met his newest family member. As soon as Alan sat down, Tony lowered Danae to the ground and she ran over to climb into her papa’s lap to see her mum and her new brother.
“Is that Richard, Papa?”
“Yeah. This is your little brother.”
Danae reached out happily to touch the infant’s head. At the sound of Danae’s voice, the infant turned bleary, unfocused eyes in her direction.
“See, love, he knows you’re here,” Alan whispered into the enchanted child’s ear. Alan looked at Sandra, his eyes full of the love he felt for her. Still holding onto the hand she had offered him, he raised it up to his lips for a kiss. Sandra squeezed his fingers in gentle acknowledgement. There would be time later for more.
Helena quietly approached behind Alan. “When we couldn’t stop the labor, we did a few quick checks and decided to let nature proceed. He’s not that much smaller than Danae was and he certainly set up enough of a fuss to prove his lungs are in fine shape.”
Alan turned around. “Thank you, Helena. For everything.”
She nodded, still holding onto Stephen. Alan could now see traces of the Professor in the boy’s cheeks and eyes. Well enough.
Noticing that Tony and John had left without a word, he figured that was permission enough for him to stay here with his family and make the acquaintance of its newest member. He’d let the others figure out whether or not Rachael had acted on her own.
~~~~~~~~~
The voices were silent…
~~~~~~~~~
The Command Staff gathered in John and Helen’s quarters late the following evening. Each person was still deeply disturbed by what had happened and was attempting to deal with the emotions in his or her own way. Helena and Bob thought it wisest to talk it out now. Besides, they had to be clear on what to tell Alpha. The inevitable questions had already started.
Helena closed the door to the sleeping boys’ room. She watched John pace in the small, crowded suite before walking over to seat herself in one of the chairs. She knew he would settle down in his own time. She looked at the crowded sofa where Maya sat at one end holding Lysee, the toddler holding hands tightly with her sister Danae who was seated next to them with Horse on her lap. Each girl seemed to find comfort in the other. Danae’s mother held her other hand and it was obvious to Helena that only the presence of Richard kept the girl from climbing into Sandra’s lap for more reassurance. Sandra said she was feeling much better, but Helena suspected she still had the occasional headache and double vision. Alan was perched on the sofa’s arm next to Sandra, not being too subtle about hovering protectively over her. And to be fair, Tony looked about as uneasy seated at Maya’s feet holding a sleeping Roberto. Helena knew he felt responsible for the danger the children had been exposed to.
No one knew where to start. Maya finally broke the awkward silence. “Helena, can you cure Rachael?” Maya was very curious about the diagnosis of schizophrenia. This sort of illness was unknown to her.
“Cure, no. But we can make the medicines she needs to function. She will be able to think and act almost normally.”
Tony snorted. “Yeah, but will anyone ever trust her again?” He and Alan exchanged a look that said they certainly wouldn’t
Helena rather thought Tony was thinking of Carolyn Powell whom he had never trusted since her threat against Maya’s life, and that had been years ago. Carolyn had lost her memories in the resulting trauma and was now quite literally a different person. Helena knew Tony’s ongoing suspicion hurt her deeply.
“We’ll just have to wait and see, Tony. Mental illness is not something she did to herself. It just happened. It is a little unusual to happen to someone of her age, but not unheard of. When I look back I realize she has been showing signs over the past few months. I’m just sorry we didn’t pick up on it sooner.” Helena ran her fingers through her hair, obviously upset at her failure to make an earlier diagnosis. At that, John stopped his pacing and walked over to her and pulled her close against him in support.
“It’s not your fault either, Helena. You and Bob said it yourselves. We’ve been lucky not to have those kinds of problem much on Alpha. Stop beating yourself up.” Helena placed her hand over John’s and nodded, not really convinced that she hadn’t somehow failed Rachael.
“Alright, if Rachael has schizophrenia, how the hell did she manage to do everything on her own?” Tony demanded. Neither he nor Maya had been able to find evidence that any other Alphan had helped her. Living Alphans, at least.
Helena thought for a moment. “Rachael was one of the people very sensitive to the Lambda effect. Not so much as Carolyn or John, but she definitely was very sensitive.” Helena shrugged. “Maybe she simply studied, or maybe she did somehow find a way to touch the memories of others.”
“And who was Kenny?” Alan asked.
“Kenneth Simms, her husband back on Earth.” Helena had reviewed Rachael’s records thoroughly and saw no reason not to answer the question.
Alan looked surprised. He hadn’t known that Rachael had been married at the time of Breakaway, if he had, he probably wouldn’t have, well… Back in that first year after Breakaway, her offer of, ah, companionship had been just what he had needed as an antidote against the constant fear of death. Hell, he had never known if he would be alive the following week much less in a year. But, gratitude for that time would never replace the living hell she had just put him through. Never. If he ever saw her near Danae or Richie…
Maya looked at Helena quizzically. “Kenneth Simms was the name of the person responsible for much of the security programming that we still use.”
Helena nodded in agreement. “He was a computer software engineer with a special interest in encryption.”
John looked at Helena and nodded thoughtfully. He then turned to Alan. “So, tell us again, what did happen in that room after the door closed? It slammed so hard I had to fall backwards so it wouldn’t take off my arm.”
Alan reached down to pull Sandra snugly against his hip and then looked back over to John’s eyes with an almost haunted look. “I just don’t know. The lights dimmed out, it got chill and then the whispers started. Rachael spoke to people who weren’t there, telling them to be quiet and let the children sleep, and then it seemed someone spoke back.”
Tony looked dubious, Maya frankly fascinated, but only Sandra felt the fine tremor of fear that went through Alan’s body at the recollection. John and Helena looked at one another; they remembered another occasion that could have been described similarly. Alan noticed the look they exchanged and nodded his head.
“Yeah, it felt like that creepy séance Mateo held when we saw his ghost.” Alan felt Sandra’s shudder next to him and he pulled her closer still. It had made his skin crawl, too. “But this time… I don’t know, there was a sense of, wanting to help, I guess.” Alan shrugged helplessly. “It was just different.”
“Yet you couldn’t open your eyes?” Helena leaned forward amazed by the tale.
“No way was I going to. I don’t deal well with ghosts, Helena, even if they are trying to be helpful. Sorry.”
“But Rachael is convinced she talked to Victor Bergman,” commented John.
Tony nodded his head in agreement; he had heard Rachael’s shouts, too. He hadn’t been involved in the Mateo séance, but he had helped with the mop-up investigation and had been suitably impressed that something weird had happened back then, so why not now?
“Yeah, and just maybe the Professor did answer, there in that chamber. It… might have been his voice, coming from a long way away.” Alan hesitantly agreed.
John looked at Helena and said quietly, “With his son in jeopardy maybe he did intervene.”
“We have seen stranger things since leaving Earth, John. Why not the return of a friend in a moment of great need?” Helena replied with an accepting shrug.
Sandra finally spoke up. She and Professor Bergman had shared a special friendship and she would never believe any part of him could be anything but good. “If he did, then I believe he offered his blessing. Will you let Alpha know now?” She opened her eyes and looked over at the Commander and Helena, the question needed to be asked.
John looked steadily at Sandra for a few heartbeats and then gave Helena a measuring look. “I may have been wrong to keep this to ourselves for so long. Yes, I think so.”
Helena simply smiled wisely.
“So, do we tell Alpha about the Professor, if it was him?” Tony looked at John wanting things spelled out clearly.
“There have been secrets enough. So, yes.”
Alan looked at the others in the room and nodded decisively. “Right.” That was good enough for him. As far as he was concerned, all he wanted right now was to take his family home, have them where he could see them, hold Sandra tightly in his arms, and leave the rest of Alpha to take care of itself. And that was exactly what he did.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After the others had gathered sleepy children and left, John walked to the door of the room where both his boys slept. Helena walked up closely beside him and slid her arm around his waist. They watched Stephen and Davie snuggle together, the brothers secure in the knowledge the other was by his side.
John whispered into her hair, “I was wrong to ask you not to tell anyone.”
Helena kept her peace.
“Do you know, Helena, what the worst part of all this was?”
Helena closed the boys’ door. She took John’s hand and led him to the sofa where they could sit together. There were many possible answers to John’s question, and she wasn’t sure which was the one John was referring to. Before she could think of an answer, John continued.
“The worst thing is that this was not a danger from the outside, but from one of us. If we can’t trust each other, we’ll never survive.”
Helena could feel the shudder of dread that ran through him. He would show this side of him, this rare moment of doubt, to no on else on Alpha, not even Tony or Alan. She knew it was an unspoken tribute of his love for her and she treasured it. She leaned into his arms and kissed him. Perhaps this was one of those times when it was her turn to be strong for him.
“We will survive, John. And I suspect you will be the one to make sure of it.”
31 January 2006
MDG